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Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Thirst No More

A few months ago, the hospital floor where I was scheduled to speak was flooded, forcing much last-minute scrambling. Thanks to the organizer's diligence and faith, we were still able to meet and hear the message God had for us that morning. I also lost my voice two days before the talk, which forced me on a silent retreat that moved the talk in a whole new direction. Though I wouldn't describe it as a flood, I experienced God's living waters while preparing and speaking that day. It is hard to describe, so I won't try, but you can read more about it here.

Ever since that day, there's been a recurrent theme of water in my spiritual journey. I love times like this when God's Word continually drives home the same message. I can't imagine a better message for me during this season of life -- a season of waiting.

Are you in a season of waiting? Are you wondering why God's gone silent? In the waiting, are you in need of a fresh experience of God's living waters?

Here's a bit of encouragement to refresh you as you wait on God. The first verse may not sound encouraging, but it is ... because of its helpful warning. As we wait on God, we must resist the temptation to dig our own cisterns!

"'My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me,the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns,broken cisterns that cannot hold water.... Consider then and realizehow evil and bitter it is for you when you forsake the Lord your Godand have no awe of me,'

declares the Lord, the Lord Almighty."

(Jeremiah 2:13, 19b)

Jesus' words below inspire the sense of awe God says we need,

"On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, 'Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink.Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.'” (John 7:37-38)

What a promise!

Two thousand years ago, Jesus went to Samaria and sat down by Jacob's well in the town of Sychar. "When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, 'Will you give me a drink?'" (John 4:7)

Imagine that! The God of the universe asking you for a drink!

Knowing that Jews did not associate with Samaritans, she said to him, "'You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?' "Jesus answered her, 'If
you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you
would have asked him and he would have given you living water.... Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again,but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life'" (John 4:9-10,13-14).

I don't know about you, but I'm thirsty. I'm thirsty often. And like the Samaritan woman, I have found that Jesus keeps his word. When I come to him thirsty, I am no longer thirsty. He satisfies the soul. He IS the Living Water my soul needs.

So speak, Lord, for Your servant is listening. I am thirsty for Your Word. Your living Word. I am thirsty for Your Truth. Your Wisdom. Your Life.

I give you my broken cisterns, Lord. Feed my soul with Your living water, and I shall live.

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I wrote Walking with Jesus in Healthcareto inspire healthcare professionals & caregivers to stay close to God while caring for people. Written in bite-sized daily reflections, the book connects you with your purpose as you start each day, while the prayers shift your focus to God's work through you.

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"A paradigm shift has changed my practice.... I am not at work to fulfill my agenda but to focus on people's needs & what God is doing in their lives. As I focus on God & His plan for the day, I discern His voice better. I am easier to guide & teach. I have more patience, compassion, & love. And I have more joy." (Walking with Jesus in Healthcare, p.119)

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